


Unlucky Charms

by Talamore



Category: American Gods (TV), American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 14:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10923624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talamore/pseuds/Talamore
Summary: Set in the novel right after Mad Sweeny asks for the coin back from Shadow in Cairo. Canon divergence for if maybe some divine intervention took place instead and certain things didn't come to pass. Some tv series fusion elements to make it work. Rating will go up for later chapters.





	Unlucky Charms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mad Sweeny was out of luck. His coin was gone and he had no hope of getting it back. He did however have twenty dollars and a way out.

He'd never been addicted to anything before. Sure he'd had his fair share of illicit drugs in the past but they never stuck to his body like this. This was new, the ache of need sunk in deep to his twitching muscles and his empty stomach, it hurt. He counted it as just another bit of the cancerous erosion of his luck, another thing slowly killing him.

The crumpled twenty in his pocket Shadow had pitied him with was an easy way to dim the growing pain, but Sweeny wasn't familiar with Cairo. He didn't know what bars would have what he needed, god what he needed and isn't that sorry, or even the ones that wouldn't kick him out for looking how he did now. Oh he knew how he looked without needing a mirror, he saw it in Shadows eyes when he'd begged for his coin back, and that apologetic look had hurt too.

No, the bars would toss him out expecting him to bring trouble, when really he had lost all will to fight. His bones didn't sing for the brawl, now they just felt painful and brittle with every uncontrollable shake that rattled his body. He had given up pretending that it was the cold that caused them, he knew better.

He trudged through the snowy streets hunting for something else bound to be ubiquitous here. Liquor stores would service you no matter what, so long as you had the money they'd let you in, parasitical to the working poor and homeless alike. He kept his hand wrapped around the bill in his pocket and briefly wondered what Shadow's ex-wife was doing, where she was, wandering around with the very sun itself. As he withered did she flourish? No, he knew she was nothing more than rotten meat given locomotion and thought. She had his coin and it wasn't even a fair trade, she was still dead and soon enough he would be too. "Cunt."

The ABC stores heat burned his freezing fingers and his toes regained feeling just to throb in his boots as he sharked through the aisles. He knew he couldn't loiter long so he grabbed the bottle and cursed that there wasn't a line to wait in, fast service would be good luck any other day.

"Your short."

"Excuse you, I'm rather tall for who I am." Sweeny's face broke into a cheeky grin knowing full well his total was over what he'd handed the cashier.

The older woman glared at him finding no amusement from his joke. She held the soggy bill delicately in mild disgust, "You got the cash or no?"

He patted his pockets with numb fingers trying to produce anything more and glanced at the cheerfully coulored 'take a penny leave a penny' bowl on the counter, empty. His grin wavered, "I ah seem to have left my wallet at home, thought that'd be enough to cover it. Sort of foolish I know but I just was in a rush and ah... and-"  And Sweeny was no hustler like Wednesday. He had always relied on cream and fruits being left on door steps and his luck to smooth over everything else after the old ways faded.

The cashier continued to stare at him, looking him up and down her eyes lingering on his fidgeting hands, as she hit the cash button and passed him the bag. "Go."

Sweeny felt the heat on his cheeks of dull anger and humiliation. Usually he felt no worse for getting his way by charming a person but this wasn't the work of his charisma or luck, his coin was gone, this was pity. Shame faced he took the bag muttering thanks and walked back into the cold morning air.

He walked aimlessly through the back roads, ears burning again in the snow, and when he found a quiet area he sat heavily against the building. He let his mind go blank as he unceremoniously drank the bottle down. Warmth spread through his stomach and numbed the aches in his chest a bit. His body was cold but he didn't notice it as much and his eyes began to droop.

A little brown cat stopped to rub its head on his outstretched legs and he gave it gentle halting pets until his arm was too heavy to move anymore. "I bet you'd like some warm cream hmm? Me too." A few little grumbling meows and the cat darted off no longer pleased with his inability to rub behind its ears.

Sweeny thought about his coin. He thought about Laura Moon somewhere rotting away and while he was angry he thought she must be miserable too, it wasn't comforting. He then thought bitterly about Shadow for giving his coin away so carelessly, stupid bastard didn't even know what he'd done. Finally he thought about how the woman at the store had gave him the whiskey despite not having the money for it, good luck any other day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna leave it at this and have it be missing moments before Shadow is called to collect John Doe but ugh the angst was too much.
> 
> Again no beta so let me know if there are any glaring issues or suggestions for improvement.


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